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Sova Carrier
3000 400 250 |buildtime=68 |uses=50 |hull=3384 |armor=5 |shields=1075 |antimatter=270 |weapon1=Laser |weapon2=Laser |weapon3= |weapon4= |damage.weapon1=4 |damage.weapon2=36 |damage.weapon3= |damage.weapon4= |damage.bombing=37 |note=Missile Batteries Embargo Heavy Strike Craft Rapid Manufacturing |desc=A strong warship specialized in providing strike craft support. |shortcut=W }} The Sova Carrier is the TEC's capital ship carrier. Manual Description: Having proven to be an effective countermeasure to pirate incursions, strike craft have been a staple of planetary defense forces for hundreds of years. The arrival of a true invasion force has made a mobile platform for hosting strike craft a necessity, and the Sova Carrier ably fulfills this role. The most advanced ship-borne manufacturing and repair facilities keep its large dorsal and ventral fighter bays in a near constant state of combat readiness. The Sova is one of the best carriers in the game, with it's 3-8 strike craft squadrons. When it has the abilities of Rapid Deployment and gets heavier armor for the strike craft, it can become a formidable adversary. With Embargo, a player can wipe out the interplanetary commerce and "steal" the tax money from the planet, and with missile batteries left behind you, they can distract an approaching enemy fleet by bombarding them with a flurry of missiles. Development Patch 1.1 changed the Sova's duration for Embargo from 120 seconds at all levels to 60/90/120 seconds per level. Patch 1.8 greatly reduced the antimatter cost of missile batteries and increased the effectiveness of heavy strike craft and rapid manufacturing Tactics *The Sova enjoys enormous advantages in the early game, simply because it can take out the neutral units around planets with disquieting ease. With a complement of fighters, it can neutralize Javelis LRM Frigates and siege frigates very quickly, after which the fighters can simply dock with the carrier to avoid retribution from local Garda Flak Frigates. With missile platforms, the Sova can easily destroy neutral Cobalt Light Frigates; and with bombers, the Sova can engage and destroy neutral Kodiak Heavy Cruisers with impunity, again docking as necessary to avoid a confrontation with flak frigates. Though the Akkan Battlecruiser can engage these opponents successfully as well, it takes a great deal more time to do so, and the Akkan must also be accompanied by Cobalts or Javelis frigates -- otherwise, the Akkan risks being overwhelmed and destroyed. The Sova can clear systems entirely on its own, with much less damage and risk (though Cobalts make this process much easier by engaging and destroying flak frigates, against which they have an advantage). To clear systems in this way requires preparation: fighters do not build instantly, so players must assess known threats and choose fighter/bomber squadrons ahead of time. *As a carrier-class capital ship, the Sova can be kept out of direct engagement, since its weapon damage is very low anyways. It is capable of rapidly attacking targets anywhere in its gravity well, making it ideal for laying siege to specific structures or, more spectacularly, commerce raiding. Fighters (as opposed to bombers) make short work of trade ships, and the Embargo ability prevents such targets from fleeing the system. On the other hand, bombers can be used to quickly destroy orbital structures. As such, a single Sova can temporarily (two minutes of reduced planetary productivity, plus 25 seconds of reduced productivity per trade vessel destroyed) hamper the productivity of an entire empire, particularly as additional trade vessels unwittingly jump into the system, only to be destroyed by fighters. **Since it is better for this "raiding" Sova to remain on the fringes of a system, the most efficient escorts are Garda Flak Frigates and Percheron Light Carriers. Being strictly defensive units, Gardas do not have to move into any kind of attack range to fulfill their purpose, meaning that they can remain in the Sova's shadow without being considered wasted units; in addition, Gardas serve to take the pressure off the Sova's fighters, allowing the Sova to effectively spend its strike craft on other targets. Percherons serve to augment a Sova's striking power immensely, making it possible to dispose of more structures or trade vessels quickly. *Another option is to use the Sova as the centerpiece for your larger combat fleet. Since Missile Launcher ability provides the ability to drop what amounts to additional pairs of Javelis missile frigates right in the middle of combat, the Sova can inject substantial firepower into a close-fought battle, making an apparent initial disadvantage into a powerful bonus. Its heavy strike craft ability grants it superior fighters and bombers, making it more effective than regular carriers. These two abilities combined make the Sova a shockingly powerful military force, giving it some of the best overall damage output of any capital ship in the game. *An aggressive way to use the Sova in battle is to immediately send it to bombard the planet. The Sova can still deploy missile platforms and strike craft while it's bombarding a planet. If the enemy moves to attack it, it can deploy missile platforms to defend itself. If the enemy leaves it alone, it's still supporting the battle with strike craft. *While attacking enemy planets which are scantily defended or undefended the Sova Carrier and any Marza Dreadnought can be ordered to leave the formation and bombard the planet. The Sova and Merza can quickly reduce planet health and population in this way. The Sova can deploy fighters to defend itself and particularly the Merza since it is vulnerable to strike craft, plus the Sova can continue to participate in any ensuing battle around the planet by deploying bombers. Missile Batteries will attack any enemy ships that come close to the Sova or Marza. *The Sova is particularly devastating early game, since the combination of its powerful strike craft and missile platforms allows it unmatched firepower and versatility in combat. A potent strategy is to build multiple Sovas (2-3) and directly assault the enemy homeworld. If the enemy invested in the wrong unit or capital ship types, he might be unable to defeat a pair of Sovas. Fortunately, the Sova becomes less dominating in the late-game, since its abilities don't support or counter large fleets very effectively. As a stand-alone combat capital ship, it's probably the most powerful in the game. *With some micromanagement the Sova can be effectively used early game against lower level siege/heavy assault capital ships (dreadnought ships). The Sova has a powerful broadside attack and it can move faster than a dreadnought can turn. Once a Sova has been by means of careful maneuvers placed in such a position to be able to fire broadsides at the rear of the enemy dreadnought it can be constantly moved in a circle around the dreadnought. The dreadnought will turn around to target the Sova but it will not be able fire at it as the Sova will always be behind it since it is circling the dreadnought. Simultaneously the Sova's strike craft squadrons and Missile Batteries can also deal attacks on the dreadnought. This tactic is particularly useful against lower level dreadnoughts which cannot attack anything directly behind it. The AI will continue to be in this trap until the Marza is severely damaged, however even a slightly competent human player will see the danger in this and order his dreadnought to disengage. *Like all carrier-class capital ships, the Sova is a little on the fragile side. Its powerful offensive abilities leave it little to defend itself with. If it cannot overwhelm the enemy with sheer damage, its low armor and hull points become a serious liability, and it will need to retreat. Category:Ships Category:Capital Ships Category:TEC Category:Carrier